Injuries/Violence
Associations Between a High School Program Related to Inclusivity and Self-Reported Interpersonal Violence Victimization among United States High School Students Ann Richey* Ann Richey Avanti Adhia Ali Rowhani-Rahbar
Introduction: Adolescent interpersonal violence is a critical public health issue that can lead to adverse health outcomes. Inclusive school climates can potentially decrease interpersonal violence victimization, and schools can promote inclusive school climates through school programs.
Methods: We used 2018 School Health Profiles data to obtain school program information and 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System data to obtain adolescent interpersonal violence victimization reports. Principals answered yes/no to the question, “Does your school have any clubs that give students opportunities to learn about people different from them, such as students with disabilities, homeless youth, or people from different cultures?” Associations between state-level proportions of high schools with that program and self-reported interpersonal violence victimization among high school students were tested using weighted logistic regression.
Results: State-level proportions of the high school program ranged from 56% to 100%. For every 10-unit difference in state-level proportions, higher proportions were associated with lower odds of a student self-reporting forced sexual intercourse (OR=0.88, 95% CI=0.84-0.93), sexual violence (OR=0.96, 95% CI=0.92-1.01), sexual teen dating violence (TDV) (OR=0.99, 95% CI=0.94-1.05), bullying victimization at school (OR=0.88, 95% CI=0.85-0.91), and electronic bullying victimization (OR=0.89, 95% CI=0.85-0.93). For every 10-unit difference in state-level proportions, higher proportions were associated with higher odds of a student self-reporting physical TDV (OR=1.03, 95% CI=0.97-1.08).
Conclusion: Results suggest preliminary evidence of associations between school programs related to inclusivity and adolescent interpersonal violence victimization. Further research is needed to understand the mechanisms behind this relationship and how schools can promote inclusive programs to effectively reduce interpersonal violence victimization.